


A Holiday Encounter

by Momoisme



Category: The Abyss Surrounds Us Series - Emily Skrutskie
Genre: Christmas Time, F/F, Fluffy, Language, Like, Modern AU, Sickeningly Sweet, because it's these two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-15 01:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8037640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momoisme/pseuds/Momoisme
Summary: Present shopping, a creepy guy, and an impromptu rescue. 'Tis the season!





	A Holiday Encounter

“Tis the season,” Swift muttered under her breath, adjusting her hold on the bags under her arm as she passed another display blaring Christmas carols. She gave it an annoyed glower and wished yet again that she could smash the cutesy village with a baseball bat.

The holidays were in full swing, just a week before Christmas, and here she was in a crowded mall on her day off, shopping for presents. Sixty hours a week working at the docks was back-breaking but it paid the bills that her father couldn’t with his disability checks. Eight people to feed and keep clothed cost a pretty penny.

_ At least California doesn’t get cold in the winter _ Swift thought to herself, trying to stay positive. Bitching about life and a difficult situation didn’t help anything. Besides, she had more shopping to do, and her brothers and sisters were going to get a decent Christmas even if it killed her.

As she ducked and weaved through dozens of shoppers and screaming kids, she caught sight of something that drove the forced smile from her face. A frown took its place when she slowed to get a better look. Over against a wall by the food court was a girl about her age with chin-length and messy dark hair glaring up at a man who was clearly overstepping. He leaned over her, arm propping him against the wall, with a grin that was as oily as the greasy mop of blond hair on his head. 

Well that was bullshit.

"Hey, babe!" she said loudly, taking fast steps over to them. "I picked up that Lego set. How many do you bet get sucked into the vacuum this year?"

While she was talking, she slid between them so she was facing the girl-- and more importantly, she was between her and Greasestain, who stepped back. 

"We should get going soon," she went on, talking over the idiot behind her trying to sputter his way into making her leave and failing badly.

Dark eyes narrowed and suspicious searched her face. Since Greasestain was still in hearing range, she couldn't say anything, so she settled for a quick wink. If that didn't work, she'd try Jedi mind tricks. 

Just as she was starting to really worry about this whole thing going south, understanding dawned on the girl's face. "Of course!" she said, going from stormy to cheerful in less than a second. And to Swift's immense surprise, she leaned forward to kiss her cheek. 

A quick "Bye Eli" was thrown over her shoulder as she grabbed Swift's hand and all but dragged her away.

"I think we're clear," she said, pulling the other girl to a stop when they were mostly through the food court. "You can let go now."

It was supposed to be a joke, but apparently that didn't come across because her hand was dropped like a hot coal. The girl blew out a sharp breath and shoved her hands in her pockets, looking anywhere but at Swift. "Sorry," she muttered. "He was just really creepy."

"It's cool." Swift grinned lazily and set her bags down. "You looked like you could use a hand. I'm Swift, by the way."

The girl looked up finally, but she had the same searching look she had before when Swift showed up. Only now it made her nervous, because she didn't think she was doing anything weird. The tops of her ears and the back of her neck burned and she considered if it was time to cut and run.

"My name is Cassandra," she said finally, the look fading. "Cass to my friends, I guess."

Swift chuckled nervously and wondered if she was a friend or not.

Awkward silence was awkward but Cassandra mercifully broke it by gesturing at one of the bags. "Legos, huh?"

Her laugh was way more genuine this time. "Yeah, shopping for my sibs. I wasn't lying about the vacuum thing."

"How old?" Cassandra-- _ Cass? _ \-- brushed her hair away from her face. It showed her eyes a lot better and Swift felt like someone had punched her in the gut.

_ Oh fuck she's hot. _

"Uh, everywhere between one and twelve. The legos are for the twins."  _ Damn it girl stop acting like a spooked deer! _

"That's cool." Cass looked away again like she was as lost for words as Swift.

Before something like reason or consequences could stop her, Swift jabbed her thumb at an open table. "Hey you want to grab a bite to eat? Rescuing pretty girls makes me hungry."

Given how Cass had very much  _ not _ appreciated Greasestain's flirting earlier, Swift was already tensing for a slap in the face when she realized what had come out of her mouth. Honestly she had half a mind to smack herself for it anyway.

But instead of getting offended, Cass just smiled. "Sounds good to me. Lead the way, Swift."

One annoyingly long line and two orders of burgers, fries, and a soda later, the two were sitting and chatting happily. Cass stopped being quiet and closed-off slowly but surely, but when Swift mentioned liking the zoo, her eyes lit up like a sunrise and Swift had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep from doing something stupid.

"My parents have been working there since before I was born," she explained. "And they always brought me to work when I wasn't at school. Once I turned sixteen, the zoo hired me as soon as I turned in my application. I mostly work with the reptiles."

"So what's your favorite animal?" Swift asked, trying to figure it out ahead of time. Maybe snakes or sharks, or...

"Turtles." She nodded for emphasis and smiled fondly. "We have two alligator snappers. They're my favorites."

Swift, in the middle of a bite of her burger, did not wait for the polite time to say, "Tell me about them!" In her defense, she didn't spit anything out.

Cass grinned and passed her a napkin with a pointed look. "You're as bad as Bao!"

She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side.

"Bao is the youngest snapping turtle." She snorted and held up her hand, palm facing up and showing a thick white scar on the side. "The little shit caught me when I was feeding him. I made the mistake of feeding him after Durga. He smelled the fish on my hand and lunged, and I didn't jump back in time."

Swift sucked in a breath. "That had to hurt."

Cass shrugged again, and looked at the scar like it was a reminder of something good. "It took a while to heal, but I learned something new. It wasn't his fault at least. So what about you?" she asked, putting her hand down. "Where do you work?"

"The docks." She grimaced and stabbed a fry into the ketchup on the burger wrapper viciously. "It's hard work, but it pays."

"You don't like it there?" 

"Like has nothing to do with it." Blunt, honest; pretty much her MO but she tried not to sound pissed. "Someone has to put food on the table."

Cass's lips curled with sympathy Swift didn't need, but she didn't try to say anything else about it. "Do anything fun?" she asked instead.

"Occasionally." She leaned forward, smiling. "Might be more fun with you though."

Cass's eyes sparkled with amusement and she reached into her pocket for her phone. "That doesn't sound like a terrible idea. What's your number?"

Swift told her and got the same, but not long after that, Cass's phone rang. After a short conversation, she put it back in her pocket and passed an apologetic look to the other girl. "Emergency at the zoo. I'll see you around?"

"Definitely."


End file.
